


Whatever Comes

by Carry_on_Wayward_Daughter



Series: Mutant Genes [1]
Category: Homestuck, Marvel, X Men
Genre: Homestuck X-Men AU, Multi, Pesterlogs are a bitch to format, Too Many Characters to Tag, i mean its homestuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-13 20:44:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14756000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carry_on_Wayward_Daughter/pseuds/Carry_on_Wayward_Daughter
Summary: “Farewell, my old friend. Whatever comes, I and mine will not go like lambs to the slaughter — but like tigers!”Growing up isn’t easy. Even less so when adolescence brings on a whole new slew of issues, like, say... a venemous touch? Falling through floors? Wall climbing, zapping from one place to another. Dog Ears?Kanaya wants to be able to hold her girlfriend's hand. Roxy wants to make her teachers, friends and family proud. Nepeta just wants a place where she and her best friend can be safe.Is that too fucking much to ask?





	1. Just a Touch

Kanaya watches as Daraya gently caresses the fabric of their latest project, a bright crimson, gold filigree decorating the edges. It's taken weeks to perfect, so many sketches thrown out and remade, then the exact fabric they wanted, what kind of thread to embroider the hem with, but it's finally done.

"It's so much more than I thought it would be," Daraya murmurs and Kanaya lets out a soft agreement, both girls too much in admirition of their own handiwork to do much else than whisper.

"I can't believe it's finally done."

"Look at the seams, K, the stitches are so tight."

"But the embroidery is divine, I could never do that."

"I think you underestimate yourself a little too much, babe."

Kanaya smiles and looks down at that, feeling her face warm up.

"I really don't think I do, but thank you."

She jumps, then, when Daraya gently takes her hand and tugs her close. Kanaya looks down at the shorter girl, her grass green eyes stern but kind as she raises Kanaya's hand to her lips.

"Really, I think you do. You are talented," she says as she plants a kiss on the inside of Kanaya's wrist. "You are kind." Another kiss, this time on her cheek. "You are stunning." This time, the kiss finds itself planted softly on Kanaya's own lips, and she follows a bit as Daraya pulls away. "And anyone lucky enough to find herself in your company should count themself so blessed."

"It's always poetry with you, Daraya," Kanaya laughs.

"What can I say, every moment with you is an ispiration," Daraya grins. "You're my muse."

The two girls lock eyes for a moment, and then the silence is broken when Kanaya snorts and both of them burst into a giggling fit, leaning on one another for support.

"I love you, Daraya," Kanaya manages to say between breaths.

Daraya just grins, then pulls her down for another kiss. Kanaya wraps her arms around her and holds her tight, returning the kiss, and smiles against her lips. There's a burst of energy there, and shivers shoot up and down her spine. Her mother could walk in any minute and catch the two of them doing this when they should be doing the rest of their school work, and the adrenaline, the looming threat of being caught, is enough to send Kanaya into euphoria.

Another shot of energy and it's like she's on fire and Daraya makes a small sound against her, but, Jesus, this kiss is just... electric. She feels reinvigorated and energized and nothing else matters aside from her and Daraya.

Until Daraya is trying to push her away, her hands weak, and Kanaya's eyes fly open.

And a scream errupts from her mouth.

The veins in her girlfriend's face are blackened and her green eyes are bloodshot as she crumples to the floor in a fit, convulsing and twitching on the ground.

The next thing she knows, her mother rushes in, accompanied by Wanshi, one of their friends from class.

"Are you okay?" Wanshi asks, eyes wide.

"Kanaya, I heard a scream, what--"

"Don't touch me!" she screams as her mother reaches towards her. "Daraya-- I only kissed her and she--"

"Oh, god-- Wanshi, call an ambulance!"

"I only kissed her," she sobs, "we only kissed."

 

 

  
"In every organism on Earth there exists a mutator gene- the X-factor, as it has come to be known. It is the basic building block of evolution - the reason we have evolved from homo habilus...." The young woman speaking clicks a button on the remote she is holding and moves on from one slide to the next, showing the traditional evolution of mankind, then continues on.

"... to homo erectus, to homo sapiens Neanderthals, and, finally, to homo sapiens. Taking it's cues from the climate, terrain, various sources of nourishment, the mutator gene tells the body when it needs to change to adapt to a new environment. The process is subtle, normally taking thousands of years."

As she clicks on to the next slide, the man who has been on display on the slide, slowly starts to change as the hair disappears from his body and the climate around him changes, growing, burning, flooding, buildings erected and torn down around him as rapidly as the sun rises across the screen and sets a moment later until ,finally, the same man wearing modern clothes and standing in the middle of a bustling street.

"Only in the last few thousand years did mankind begin to make clothes for himself, build shelters, use heat and grow food in large quantities. With this man-made environment remaining relatively stable, the X-factor became dormant. Until now...."

"For reasons still not known to us, we are seeing what some are calling the beginnings of another stage of evolution--"

"You're avoiding the question I posed to you at the beginning of the hearing, Ms. Lalonde. Three words: Are mutants dangerous?"

Roxy squints passed the lights glaring down on her and searches the crowd until her gaze finally lands on the voice's owner.

Senator Jack "Slick" Spades.

She looks over to her mentor, who gives her a reassuring nod, and grits her teeth and takes a calming breath.

"I am avoiding a question that is decidedly loaded, Senator. The wrong person behind the wheel of a car can be dangerous."

"Well, we do license people to drive."

"But not to live, Senator," she blurts out before she can stop herself. "These are people who only want to live their lives--"

"Thank you, Roxy," Dolorosa says as she steps up to the stage. "I believe I can take it from here. That was a wonderful presentation." She turns to the crowd as Roxy gathers her papers in a huff and storms off the stage.

"Ms. Dolorosa-- you work at a school for mutants in Westchester, New York. Can you tell the members of this committee what exactly you are teaching these mutants?"

"Doctor, if you please, Senator," Dolorosa corrects calmly, "and we teach what any other school, private or public, would otherwise teach. Mathematics, science, history, art, music--"

The senator interrupts and Roxy grinds her teeth in irritation on Dolorosa's behalf. This slimy jerk just won't stop with the interruptions. She straightens out her papers as Dolorosa calmly disputes everything he says with all the poise and grace and determination that Roxy wishes she had.

She shifts in place and pulls at the too-tight knee length beige skirt she had to wear to these meetings, then pulls out her phone.

ROXY [RX] began pestering FRUITY RUMPUS ASSHOLE FACTORY

RX: yall im sooooo tired of this shot

RX: shit**

DK: Not going well i presume

RX: no :((

DV: whats up rox

RX: that gross spades guy keeps interruptin dolly mama and wont let er fuckin say anything

RX: hes such a slimy dickhead

KK: ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THAT JACK SPADES GUY

KK: BECAUSE IF SO

KK: FUCK HIM

KK: HE IS SUCH AN IGNORAMUS I COULD SHIT MILES OF RAGE SNAKE TO CHOKE HIM TO DEATH IN MY SLEEP

KK: I'M SO TIRED OF THIS ILLBRED PIECE OF HORSESHIT SPEWING WHATEVER HATE-FILLED, BIGOTED BILE HIS POOR SHITSTAIN EXCUSE OF A FRONTAL LOBE CONCOCTS TO KEEP THE MAJORITY OF HIS FOLLOWERS AFRAID AND WELL UNDER HIS THUMB WHILE THAT ORANGE MOTHER FUCKER IN THE BIG CHAIR TURNS AN EYE AND RANTS ABOUT THAT GOD DAMNED WALL

DK: what did i do

KK: NOT YOU SHIT-FOR-BRAINS THE OTHER MOTHERFUCKER IN THE GLORIFIED HIGH CHAIR AND SITTING PRETTY IN THE WHITEHOUSE SPEWING ANTI-MUTANT RHETORIC AND RACIST BS

DK: ah

DK: thank you for the clarification

RX: wow kitkat

RX: talk about a big mod

RX: mood**

RS: you only have another hour or so Roxy and perhaps this has been a good experience for you as a spokesperson

RS: do you think that perhaps the reason Spades has such a difficult time accepting mutants into society is because he himself has had personal run ins with mutants which were not so pleasant

RS: in this case it is completely reasonable for him to want to completely exclude mutants from society and re-establish homesapiens as the superior race and subject all those who suffer from the X gene to squalid living conditions and greet them with violence and mass genocide

RX: Rosie ur sarcasm is gettin harder to read

RS: my apologies Roxy

 

ROXY [RX] ceased pestering FRUITY RUMPUS ASSHOLE FACTORY

"You wouldn't happen to be teaching them to use their powers to--"

"Control, Senator," Dolorosa replies as calmly as ever and Roxy looks up from the multicolored group chat. "We teach them control over their powers and various abilities, to better ensure both their safety and the safety of others."

"So, you admit that there is a possibility for them to be a danger to the public then," he responds and Roxy shrinks back at the menacing smile that curls his lips. She feels her form flicker momentarily and her tangibility is nonexistant until she shakes her head and solidifies herself again.

Spades pulls out his own remote and points it at another display, which lights up to exhibit a grainy, super zoomed in, somewhat obscured image of a car on a freeway that appears to have been melted. There's a mumur throughout the crowd and several people shift in discomfort and fear.

Always fear.

"This was taken by a state police officer in Secaucus, New Jersey. A man in a minor altercation literally melted the car in front of him. I don't know where you come from, Ms. Dolorosa, but where I come from, you don't go melting people's cars when they cut you off. You do it the old fashioned way-- you give 'em the finger." The crowd laughs and Roxy shoots a panicked look to Dolorosa then up into the balcony where the headmaster waits. "But what you presume to tell this committee--"

"I presume nothing," Dolorosa says coolly, cutting him off in the same manner he had. "I am here to tell you that in time, the mutator gene will activate in every living human being on this planet. Perhaps even your children, Senator."

"I can assure you, there is no such creature in my genes." The crowd luaghs and Spades smirks, then adjusts his suit a bit before continuing on. "Ms.--"

"Doctor."

"-- we are not here to weed out mutants. The Registration Act is designed merely to assess their potential threat-- if any-- to national security."

The audience erupts then, in a chorus of of agreement and objections, a myriad of reactions as people loudly debate and argue with one another, and Roxy's stomach turns as some people start throwing obscenities Dolo's way as she exits the stage. Roxy runs towards her mentor and takes her hand and takes note of the trembling there.

As the two join Dolo's friend and colleague, Psii, Kelly's voice booms out over the crowd again and Roxy can feel the blood drain from her face.

"Mutants are very real. They are among us. We must know who they are. And above all, we must know what they can do."

 

The three of them make their exit quickly, and Roxy does her best not to keep attention away from them.

There's an angry mob outside, people picketing, signs with sayings like "Diseased" and "Hang the Mutants" and "Demons" painted on them. Very few people have sins supporting them, but they are vastly overwhelmed.

As many protesters as there are, there are more reporters, and at least a dozen head their way, microphones and voice recorders out. One woman shoves a mic into Roxy's face and Psii pulls her behind Dolo and between the two of them.

"Ms. Lalonde will not be taking any questions, thank you," Psii says loudly, "she is an intern, any questions you may or may ot have may be directed to Doctor Adrika Dolorosa or myself."

"Doctor Dolorosa,how do you feel about the Senator's Statement?"

"How is the mutant community reacting? Is it true that mutants are dangerous?"

"Is there a mutant plot to overthrow the government?"

"No comment," Dolo replies and, very carefully, pushes through the people surrounding them.

As they make their way through the crowd, Roxy spots a small group of kids around her age, mostly boys, grinning and rough housing, then one stands up on the wall of the fountain they're sitting at and hurls an open can of soda straight at Dolorosa's head.

"Dr. D, look She doesn't think. She just lunges forward out of Psii's grasp and wraps her arms around her mentor's waist and hugs as tight as she can and just scrunches her eyes shut and feels the can pass through Dolorosa.

The crowd falls quiet and Roxy opens her eyes. Dolo's fine, both of them completely dry. She looks behind her and sees the can, floating about five inches away from Psii's own face, and surrounded by a crackling, wild energy.

She looks around at the people staring at them, the reporters now gawking. She releases Dolo and steps away, and as she does, the people all gasp and move back, away from them all.

"Please," Roxy begs, "we-- we're not the ones to be afraid of! We-- I don't--"

"Go back underground, freak!"

Roxy whirls around and just watches as an older man swings to bring a picket sign down on top of her and can't react.

But she doesn't have to.

Her attacker freezes, his body encased in the same crackling energy that surrounded the can, now lying crumpled and forgotten on the ground.

Dolorosa sighs and pulls Roxy closer towards her.

"Come, now, we have to go."

"Dr. D, I'm sorry-- I didn't mean-"

"I know, love, it's alright." She runs a reassuring hand over Roxy's head and smiles softly, then turns. "Psiioniic, lets go."

"You got it, Doc." He pulls out his phone and makes a quick call. "Hey, Mala, we're gonna need some damage control from the big guy.... Yeah, a quick mind wipe-- Got it. I got the girls headed to the car now. Alright. See you soon." He turns back to Dolo and Roxy and leads them outside, the crowd now parting easily for them as they don't want to get too close to the "mutant freaks".

Once they get into the car, Dolo lets out a long sigh and just leans back, her hand over her eyes.

Roxy puts her hands in her lap and just stares at the floorboard as Psii takes the driver's seat and pulls away. She doesn't move until her phone buzzes again and she checks it.

JOHN [JH] began pestering FRUITY RUMPUS ASSHOLE FACTORY

JH: so how'd it go?? :B

RX: ...

JN: ....?

RX: ... heck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates on SatUrday ^U^    
>  Unless the writer completely forgets to update, in which case you have every right to lynch them   
> 


	2. Midnight Train

It's crowded in the subway terminal, people bustling around, trying desperately to get wherever it is they're going. It's also loud. The chattering, the ringing of people's phones, the static of the intercom telling everyone that the next train for Manhattan will be arriving in roughly ten minutes, she can hear everything, and she pulls the blue cloth further down over her ears and sighs.

"Are you alright, Nepeta?"

She looks up at Equius, whose hand had made its way to her shoulder in concern. His expression is nervous behind the dark shades he's wearing, and his hood is pulled low over his head.

"Yeah, I'm okay, s'just loud is all."

He pauses, then starts rifling through the bag hanging off of his shoulder.

"Here," he says and hands her something. It's a large set of headphones plugged into a small, lilac colored mp3 player. "This should help a little bit, at least. The, uh... the music player is dead, but it won't look odd or out of place. It should drown out the noise clutter, however."

Nepeta smiles up at him in gratitude and pulls the headphones on over her ragged, blue hat. It's not a lot, but it _does_ help to soften the overwhelming sounds around her. She takes solace in that and leans against Equius as they wait for their train. She's so tired. It's been a long day.

A few minutes pass by and Equius nudges her lightly.

"Our train is here, Nepeta, come on."

"Alright, I'm coming." She gathers up her bag and carefully tucks the lifeless mp3 into her pocket.

The two of them stand up from the bench they were sitting on and Equius gently wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close. She lets him but lets her gaze dart around subtly, watching the faces of the people around them. They're so close. It's just Manhatten, then New Hampshire, and then they're onto Quebec.

And then they're on the train and she can practically taste their freedom.

The train car is just as crowded as the terminal itself, but there's an empty seat that Equius snipes for her, and he holds onto the handle close to her. They nearly got separated two days ago when a few protesters got a little too rowdy, and he's been vigilant ever since. They both have.

It's not as loud in here. The people crowded together are packed and smushed like a can of sardines. There's a woman right across from her holding a toddler as he looks out the window, the man next to her is reading a paper, and there's a small group of teenage boys laughing and shoving each other around and jostling the other passengers around them.

Equius just scoffs at them and pulls his hoodie down.

"It won't be long now, Nepeta," he says softly, and she grins up at him, practically bouncing in her seat.

"I know," she says energetically. "I'm so excited! Aren't you excited? I'm so excited!"

"It is exciting, yes," he smiles, "but we still need to be careful. Anything could happen, so we can't let our guard down just yet."

"I know, but-- oh, I'm just so _excited!"_

"Do you mind?" the man sitting next to her snaps as he lowers his paper down in a huff, the paper crinkling loudly. "I am _trying_  to  _read."_

"Well, nobody's stopping you," Nepeta snarks back. "By all means, read your paper."

The man huffs, then rolls up the paper and points it in her face.

"You oughta show your elders the proper respect, little girl," he warns. "These streets ain't so safe anymore, what with these disease ridden muties running around tearing up the place; you never know when one might pop up and try to take your head off."

Nepeta bristles at that, and hates the self-satisfied smirk the man puts on.

"That's not--"

"Excuse me, sir, we meant no disrespect," Equius interrupts, placing a calming hand on her shoulder. "We've been travelling for a few days and are closing in on our destination; it's difficult to contain our excitement, but we will attempt to do so. In the meantime, please, continue on. We'll try not to bother you anymore."

"Hmph. Well. See that you don't."

Nepeta slumps down in her seat and crosses her arms, angrily chewing her bottom lip. Equius just shares a look with her and she gives a small nod. She won't cause a scene, she won't do anything. She's just going to let this giy next to her be a huge jerk and she's not going to do anything.

She won't risk being separated from Equius again.

The man gets off the train twenty minutes later, and Nepeta can breathe again as Equius sits down beside her.

It's going to be a long ride.

 

An hour later, the train stops, and at least half the people get off, if not more. It's a light stop, and only five people get on this time. There's plenty of room now that the boys at the back of the car have room to tussle each other and horseplay. Nepeta doesn't even know what they're doing or where they're going, just that they're loud and obnoxious.

She pulls down the headphones.

Another stop, and several people get off, but only one gets on.

It's a young woman who looks to be close to around Nepeta's age, maybe a year or two younger than Equius. She's wearing a long, dark coat and skirt and a grean, silk head scarf that matches the color of her eyes perfectly.

She looks around the car as she enters, then sits as close to the sliding doors as possible, right across from Nepeta. She doesn't make eye contact and just pulls her duffle bag into her lap and clutches it tightly.

Nepeta smiles when the girl looks up and she waves at her. She gives a small smile in turn and waves back half-heartedly.

It's quiet for a while, and Nepeta laughs quietly as Equius starts falling asleep next to her. He needs the rest, poor guy, having hardly slept a wink here lately.

"Hey."

Nepeta tears her gaze away from Equius at the muted sound and looks across at the girl. One of the boys from the back of the car has made his way over and is standing over the girl, one arm propped up on the window behind her. This guys is literally looming ovfer her and Nepeta is immediately uncomfortable.

She pulls the headphones down around her neck so she can hear the girl's response.

"Um... Hello."

"Name's Chad. How you doin'?"

"I am... well, I suppose, thank you."

"Care for some company? You're lookin' pretty lonely over here."

"Oh, no, thank you. I would prefer to be alone."

"Aw, c'mon, babe, why you gotta be like that?"

"I apologize-- Chad, you said? I just prefer to be alone right now, thank you."

"What's your name?"

"I- I do not feel comfortable continuing this line of conversation. Please, just leave me alone."

"Come on, sweetness, I'm just lookin' for a little company, a little conversation, what's the harm in that?"

The girl looks at him, then quickly looks away.

"Hey... Hey I'm talking to you."

Another of the boys walks up, grinning.

"Where are you going?"

She doesn't say anything and just clutches her bag tighter.

"Awww... look guys she's shy!" another boy laughs.

"Maybe that's why she's alone. Is that why you're alone? Too shy to conversate, huh?"

"I only want to be left alone."

"And I just wanna talk. What's wrong with that?"

The boy reaches out and grabs her hand, and as soon as he does, he lets out a shrill scream and the girl pulls her hand away as he falls.

She stands up, panic on her features, bag clutched to her chest.

"Don't touch me, don't touch me-- please, I just want to be left alone--"

"Hey, man, she's a fuckin' mutant!"

She tries to move away but is shoved to the ground, and Nepeta stands up. Equius startles awake as she does and hauls himself to his feet.

"Hey!" she snaps. "That's not very nice! You ought to apologize to her."

"Didn't you just see that shit!?" the second boy says as his friends stoop to check on the boy on the ground.

"I saw you all messing with her when she asked several times to be left alone," she replies, hands curled into fists.

"That bitch could have killed my best friend!"

"Your best friend was being a butt!"

The two of them are leaning heavily into each other's personal space when Equius steps between them.

"Alright, lets maybe all take a step back and take a nice, deep breath. I am sure this has all been a misunderstanding--"

"Whatever, man, just keep your bitch in line."

Both Equius and Nepeta tense up, and she feels a low growl bubbling up in her chest.

"You will refrain from referring to my friend in such a derogatory manner," Equius says lowly, his voice devoid of all emotion.

"Or what, pal? You gonna hit me?"

"I just might, if you insult my companion again, yes."

"Check the numbers, my guy," the boy laughs. "There's four of us and one of you, I don't think this is going to go the way you think it is."

"I think you are wrong in that regard, but, I digress. If you agree to apologize to Nepeta and this-- I am sorry, miss, I did not get your name."

"... Kanaya," the girl says softly, and Equius reaches out a gloved hand to her, which she takes hesitantly. "My name is Kanaya."

"Yes, thank you. If you agree to apologize to Nepeta and Miss Kanaya, and if you leave her to her busines, then we can all leave here with no trouble."

"Man, fuck you, this ain't none of your business anyway."

"Yeah, and defending this mutant bitch ain't gonna get you anywhere," another scoffs, "unless you're a freak like her."

"I will ask once more," Equius says calmly, "apologize too--"

Nepeta gasps as the boy's fist connects with Equius' jaw in a solid punch that nearly knocks him over. She catches him as he loses his stance, holding his jaw. His nose is bleeding heavily and Nepeta sees red.

"Are you okay, Equikitty?"

"I am alright," he says, and pats her hand as he wipes away the blood.

"Good." She turns to the boy who punched Equius, who is now laughing and fist bumping his friends. "Hey, butt-munch!"

"Aww, looks like the little girl wants to play now," one of them says.

"How cute."

"I'm not as patient as my friend, so I'm gonna tell you once: Apologize."

"I think you should take a seat, little girl." He pushes her and she stumbles back, then snarls and lunges forward, punching him square in the jaw. He lets out a yell at the impact and goes down, holding his face.

One of the other boys lunges forward, hands out to grab her, but Equius is suddenly between them, and he grabs the boy by the wrists and swings him around, pinning him to the seat behind them.

"None of you will touch either of them again," he snarls.

The last boy looking after Chad stands up and grabs the briefcase of a nearby passenger. He swigns it wildly as he comes up and manages to Nepeta across the head with it, hard, and her headphones go skittering across the subway floor.

She holds a hand to the bleeding gash, then turns and lets out a growl at the wide eyed boy. She can already feel the cut healing and closing up. She crouches a bit, and her knuckles crack as two, long, shiny claws emerge from each hand.

Suddenly, the first boy is up, shaking and dazed. He grabs Equius around the neck from behind and pulls his head back as much as he can in his weakened state. Equius just grabs him by the arm and flips him over his shoulder, but the third boy pulls a knife.

Nepeta snarls at that, and brings her claws down over the blade, slicing it cleanly with no problem.

She points one clawed hand at the boy who hit her with the briefcase and another at the boy with the knife.

"I'll say it one more time," she says sweetly. "Say you're sorry, and let my friend go."

"Yeah, yeah, alright, look, okay," he says, hands up in surrender. "We give, okay? Just-- don't go all psycho mutant on us, okay?"

"I don't think I heard an apology in there, did you, Miss Kanaya?"

"I- I don't think so, no," the girl says quietly, eyes wide at everything happening around her. The train is slowing down, now, almost completely stopped.

"Yeah, I didn't either."

"Look, we're sorry, alright? We didn't mean no harm--"

"Sure you didn't--"

"The three of you need to leave," says an older woman as she walks forward, a heavy scowl disrupting her features. "I'm calling the police if you don't leave right away."

Nepeta looks at her, then back at the boys. Several other passengers are standing now, some with phones out and she can only guess that they're recording this. Some of them are looking at them in disgust, some in ashamed sympathy.

Equius is helping Kanaya to her feet, careful not to touch any bare skin.

"Fine," she huffs as she sheathes her claws, and lifts her hands. "We're leaving. Equius?"

"Would you like to come with us for a bit, Miss Kanaya?" he asks softly. She nods, and he guides her gently to the opening door, the boys in front of them scattering out of their way.

Nepeta grabs her and Equius' discarded bags and steps quickly after them, then turns and raises too middle fingers and sticks out her tongue as they leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates on SatUrday ^U^    
>  Unless the writer completely forgets to update, in which case you have every right to lynch them   
> 


	3. Fallout

DIRK [DK] began pestering ROXY FALLOUT SQUAD

DK: Okay. I’m tapping out.

DK: You’re it, Jane

DK: Protocol Huggy Bear.

JN: Oh no

JN: How bad is it?

DV: she wont let me or rose in

DV: straight up solitary season 3 up in this bitch. all locked up in her room and shit, its crazy

RS: I managed to procure a copy of the footage from the conference, particularly the bit where she phased Dolorosa and herself. I have to admit, her reaction time is improving drastically. She might just be able to best Dirk in the simulator at this rate.

DV: im totally down for seeing those two go head to head

DK: I’d much rather not have to fight our cousin, to be honest

DV: whats the matter bro scared she’ll kick your ass?

DK: Yes. Roxy terrifies me.

JN: You’re all being silly. I’m going to go ahead and go talk to her, you three just…

JN: Do whatever it is you do

DK: My hero

JN: The Gutsy Gumshoe is on the case! :B

xXx

“Oh, come on, now Roxy,” Jane says from the doorway. “It couldn’t have been all _that_ bad.”

“Mmo mnmn mhhr,” is all she hears from Roxy, who is face down on the large, pink and black dressed bed, her head shoved under a pillow. She hasn’t even changed out of the pencil skirt she wore to the conference, and instead has just kicked off her heels and tossed her suit jacket over her computer screen.

Jane just sighs, then walks over and sits on the edge of the bed.

“You know, it’d be a _lot_ easier to understand you with less of your face shoved into plush blankets and mattress.”

“You weren’t _there!”_ Roxy rips the pillow off and props herself up on her elbows as she looks at her, eyes wide. “It was awful! People staring and gawking! It was like I was back at Saint WInnie’s Prep. One minute, I’m falling asleep reading _the Rape of the Lock,_ next thing I know, I’m two floors down in the boys’ locker room, flat on my back, and getting way too much view of scrawny boy ass.”

“... And there was ass at the conference?”

“So much ass!”

Jane snorts at that and tries to hide her smile behind her hand. It doesn’t work and Roxy just groans and lets her head fall forward and back into her pillow.

“Am I going to have to bring the twins in here?”

“Nooo…. I don’t want ‘em to see me like this. I fucked up so hard.”

“Roxy, please,” she begs, exasperated at this point, “sit up. Everyone’s alright, it’s okay.”

“You don’t understand, Janey. I _exposed_ us. The Professor had to go in and mindwipe the few people close enough to see what happened and Sollux had to hack into their databases to delete the footage. He’s going to be insufferable for _days!”_

“I mean, he could have just made you do it yourself.”

“... Yeah. I guess.” The other girl rolls over onto her back and stares up at the ceiling. “I still exposed the three of us. It could have gone a lot worse than it did.”

“You’re right,” Jane agrees, and Roxy’s eyes flash over to her. “It could have, but it didn’t. Answer me a few questions.”

“Jane--”

“Humor me, please.”

“... Fine.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“No.”

“Did the video footage get out?”

“... No.”

“Was anyone arrested or taken into custody?”

“No, but--”

“Then everything’s fine!”

“Janey, it all could’ve been so bad. It was my first press conference and--”

“And you handled it marvelously. Seriously, Dolorosa was bragging on you to the Professor. And that presentation you put together for the research? Darkleer actually asked Dolo if he could use it for his genetics class.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but she said he’d have to ask you first.” Roxy sniffs and sits up, clutching her pillow to her chest, and Jane smiles and takes her hand. “Hey, now, none of that. Roxy, you’re doing the best you can, and no one is looking down at you, no one is disappointed in you.”

“I don’t know. Rosy gets pretty disapproving at times, and Dirk--”

“They both adore you. You know why I’m here. Roxy?”

“Because I’m a disaster that doesn’t know how to deal with her emotional fallout?”

“No- well, I mean, that’s literally all of the Strilondes. No, I’m here because they couldn’t get through to you and are worried. They love you, Roxy, and they want to be here for you.”

“... I know. I just… I don’t want ‘em to see me like this.”

“Do you want me to leave you alone, then?”

“I don’t think so. I’ve been in here for an hour and a half, I think.”

“Well, then do you want to come help me make brownies? Dad sent me a new recipe that I’ve been just _dying_ to try.”

Roxy laughs, then wipes her eyes.

“Hells yeah. I could use some chocolate.”

_“And_ caramel. And pecans.”

“Damn, Janey, that sounds good. You’re gonna make me fat.”

Jane lets out an over exaggerated, maniacal laugh and rubs her hands together as she stands.

“Then my master plan is succeeding after all!”

“Oh my god, shut up,” Roxy laughs, and Jane raises her arms to block her face as the other girl swings the pillow at her.

“Come on, let’s go.”

xXx

Forty five minutes later, Jane, Roxy, Dave, and Dirk all look at their phones as they buzz loudly.

DOLOROSA [DL] started pestering TEAM X04

DL: If Yo+u Wo+uld All Please Gear Up And Ready Yo+urselves The Pro+fesso+r Has Assigned Yo+u All A Missio+n

DL: Meet Psiio+niic In The Hangar And Be Prepared To+ Take O+ff

DV: whats the objective doc?

DL: Extractio+n.

DL: A Small Gro+up O+f Mutants Is Quite Po+ssibly In Danger And Require Assistance. The Fo+ur O+f Yo+u Are To+ Bring Them Here To+ The Mansio+n Immediately.

RX: you got it dolly mama :P

DL: I Have The Utmo+st Faith In Yo+u, Ro+xy

DL: Takeo+ff Is In Fifteen Minutes

DL: Go+o+d Luck.

DOLOROSSA [DL] ceased pestering TEAM X04

DK: I’ll meet you all in the hangar

RX: janey an me r on our way

JN: See you soon!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates on SatUrday ^U^    
>  Unless the writer completely forgets to update, in which case you have every right to lynch them   
> 


	4. On the Road Again

The burger is dry and the buns are soggy, the fries are stale, and she’s pretty sure the coffee was brewed last night, but Jesus if it’s not the first hot meal Nepeta’s had in a week. It could be days old and she wouldn’t care.

The diner is practically empty, and the three of them are sitting in a booth in the far corner, Equius right next to her and Kanaya right across from them.

“I’m sorry I can’t do much more to thank you,” Kanaya apologizes for the fifth time in twenty minutes. Her gloves are pulled off and next to her own plate, and the silk green headscarf she was wearing before is folded neatly on her lap. “I know it’s not much, but--”

“Are you kidding?” she asks around a mouthful of burger, and Equius silently passes her a napkin. “This is  _ great! _ ”

“Yes, thank you, Miss Kanaya,” Equius agrees. “You did not have to spend your money on us.”

“The two of you were forced off the train before you reached your destination,” she insists. “It’s my fault you were discovered.”

“Those guys were being a bunch of dicks.”

“Language, Nepeta.”

“Sorry, E. Those guys were being a bunch of jerks. We couldn’t just do  _ nothing _ .”

“Still, I feel awful about this whole mess.”

Nepeta waves her hand at that.

“Don’t worry about it. Us x-ers gotta stick together, right?” She earns a quick look from Equius at that, which she ignores in lieu of her burger.

“I’m… sorry. X-ers?” Kanaya asks, confusion painted across her features.

“People… like us,” Equius says slowly. “People who are born with the X gene. Mutants.”

“Oh.”

“Hey, Molly, ya wanna turn that up, sweetheart?”

Nepeta glances over to one of the patrons at the counter. He’s an older man wearing a cap and a big, burly vest, and he’s currently looking up at the old, box set television mounted up in the corner of the ceiling.

She feels her heart skip a beat.

Displayed through the static on the screen is a video of a small group of teenage boys harassing a girl wearing a green headscarf, and when one reaches out and grabs her by the wrist, he drops to the ground as though he’s been tased.

The three of them share a look as the video-- blurry enough to obscure their faces-- continues on.

_ “-- the identity of these rogue mutants are yet unknown, but are to be considered volatile and dangerous. If you see them, please, report them to your local authorities. Do not, under any circumstances, engage.” _

_ “Thank you, Melissa.” _

_ “No, thank  _ **_you_ ** _ , Adam.” _

_ “Any idea as to why these mutants became so hostile so suddenly?” _

_ “I have no idea, though if you look closely, you can see the other two jump in as soon as the boys approach. It is quite possible that these mutants were waiting to ambush the boys, as you can see these two have been on the train nearly as long as the teenagers themselves.” _

“We should go,” Equius whispers. He takes the last of his burger and wraps it up in several napkins before stowing it away into his bag. Kanaya and Nepeta do the same, though Nepeta shoves a handful of fries into her mouth before she follows, right behind Kanaya.

Several sets of eyes follow them as they walk out the door and into the snowy parking lot.

“So, what do we do now?” Nepeta asks as she pulls her coat tighter around her. It’s getting dark, close to dusk, and it’s steadily growing colder. Kanaya shivers and wraps her scarf around several times before tucking it into her jacket.

“We have to get out of here, and we have to do it fast.” He glances over at the two of them and sets his jaw. “I hate to suggest it, but… we may have to illegally borrow a vehicle.”

Nepeta grins at that, then cracks her knuckles.

“Do I get to do the thing?”

Equius just sighs and runs a hand through his long, black hair.

“Yes,” he says, then quickly, “but do it  _ quietly _ .”

“Wait,” Kanaya says as Nepeta starts bounding toward the nearest pickup. The girl looks up at Equius. “We’re stealing a car?”

“A truck,” Equius corrects. “It’s going to be easier to drive through this kind of weather, but yes. We are stealing a car.” He pauses, then gently leads her after Nepeta. “It’s not ideal, but we aren’t safe here. It won’t be long until we are discovered.”

When they reach Nepeta, she’s looking over the light blue truck, and nods her head. It’s a three seater, and she can see a few dollar bills sticking out from under the sun visor. She nods once to Equius, and he steps in front of her, blocking her visage from anyone who might be watching. 

She opens the door and crawls in and begins looking for keys. That’s the thing about small towns like this, everyone trusts one another. She feels bad about taking advantage of that trust, but not nearly as bad as she would feel if Equius or their new friend were to get hurt.

“No keys,” she says, then grins and holds up a fist. A lone claw shoots out and she sits back. “Hop in.”

Equius nods again, then walks around and opens the door for Kanaya.

“Miss Kanaya.”

“You know, just Kanaya is fine.”

“Forgive me, then, Kanaya.” He shuts the door after she gets in, then jogs back around to the other side, and Nepeta scoots over to the middle seat so Equius can get in and drive. She waits until he’s seated and ready to go before stabbing her claw into the ignition and starting the truck. 

It starts loudly, and Nepeta winces, covering her ears quickly.

“My apologies, Nepeta.”

“S’okay,” she grumbles. “Just loud.”

“I know, just… Hold on. We’re getting out of here, I promise.”

Equius pumps the gas and they peel out as fast as they can. Nepeta can feel the relief radiating from Kanaya, and she stifles a small laugh as several people run out of the diner and grow smaller in the rearview mirror.

  
  


x X x

  
  


Three hours and they’re still driving. 

Eight hours, and Kanaya hasn’t yet said where she’s headed. Just away. She’s barely mentioned why she’s on the run, though given her power, it’s not hard to figure out. She dropped that boy like a thirty pound sack.

The silence is long and awkward, and the radio is only picking up static and news stations going on about mutant sympathizers and protesters being arrested at a rally upstate. It’s not exactly reducing the tension in the cab of the truck.

“So…” Kanaya says slowly, twiddling the hem of her coat. “How long have you two been travelling together?”

“Umm… how long has it been, E? Two months, three?”

“I would say three, yes.”

“Oh? Is there a story there?” She’s intrigued now. She didn’t  _ think _ they were related, but now she knows for sure. “How did you two meet?”

“Eh, I was fighting for cash,” Nepeta shrugs as she unwraps the rest of her burger from earlier. “One of those unsanctioned boxing matches in an alley. Anyway, these guys started trying to muscle Equius in, right? And they manage to get him into the ring, and I wasn’t gonna fight a guy who didn’t even wanna be there. I mean, lookit him. He wouldn’t hurt a fly, would you, E?”

“That’s not really a question that merits an answer.”

“See? Anyway, he gets muscled in and I tell ‘em all, ‘I’m not fighting him, I won’t do it,’ and they all start getting mad and ansty because they put money on whoever, blah, blah, blah. So they get handsy, right, and one of them decides to grab me and--”

“HOLD ON!”

Kanaya gasps as the truck slams to a sudden stop and she and Nepeta both lurch forward. She watches in near slow motion as a large tree falls across the road before they slam into it, tires sliding over the snowy ground.

Her heart is in her throat and she’s breathing heavily, but she’s alright. Equius has his arm thrown out in front of the both of them and is the only thing that’s kept them from face planting into the dashboard.

“What the fuck!?” Nepeta exclaims after she catches her breath.

“I don’t know,” Equius mumbles, then unlatches his seat belt. “Miss Kanaya, stay here, Nepeta, behind me.”

Nepeta nods then unbuckles and gets out after him.

He checks out the hood, crumpled and bent, then pries it open. It creaks and groans in protest but, eventually, he manages to open it, and steam and smoke rolls out, hitting him in the face. 

He leans back and waves it away, coughing as the acrid stench assaults his nostrils. 

“I don’t think there is a way to salvage this,” he calls out as he surveys the damage. “We’re going to have to travel on foot from here until we can hitch a ride. Nepeta?”

Nepeta looks around at the tree, eyes narrowed. The pines are still green and healthy; it shouldn’t have fallen unless an animal was chewing at the base, like a beaver. She looks further and jumps up onto the fallen tree, crawling along it carefully until she reaches the point where it had broken.

Normally, with them being so far from a large body of water, she would assume that some small animal had burrowed into the wood and made a den, but the tree… it’s not hollow. It’s solide, the wood is still strong, but, in that case, why would it have fallen so suddenly?

Then she looks closer. 

Something… it looks like something clawed at the tree, like a bear, or a mountain lion, but, aside from the frayed wood, it’s clean.

Curious, she extends her claws and brings it down on one of the marks.

It’s a perfect match.

She whirls around, frantic, and looks at Equius.

“Equius, we gotta go!”

“What? What’s the matter?”

“We have to--”

Her breath is knocked from her entirely as something plows into her from behind and knocks her to the ground. She’s facefirst in the snow with something-- someone-- kneeling on her back and she gasps for air. She reaches out a hand and tries to pull herself away, but then cries out as a similarly clawed hand stabs her wrist into the ground.

“Aww, what’s the matter? Does the little kitty not wanna play?” a low, growling voice purrs.

“Get--  _ off _ \-- of me!” she growls back. She extends the claws on her other hand and swipes backwards, and the weight is lifted off of her. She rolls over and springs to her feet, crouched low, claws on both hands now extended. The puncture wounds on her wrist start closing slowly.

There’s a girl, and she loses her breath a moment.

Long hair, dark and wild, eyes a soft green that matches her own and a face that… that looks exactly like hers, if only a few years older.

This girl could be her sister for all the similarities.

“Who- who are you?” she asks, breathless. 

The girl just grins at her, smile sharp and fanged, and tilts her head.

“Hmm… wouldn’t  _ you _ like to know?”

“I would, actually. S’why I asked.”

The girl just laughs, then hurls herself at Nepeta, her own claws out and ready. 

Nepeta drops and plants her feet on the girl’s stomach as she lands on top of her and kicks up as hard as she can, sending her flying over head. She rolls and scrambles back to her feet, then runs toward Equius, who is running toward her, as well.

“Nepeta!”

“Equius, go! We gotta run!”

She loses her breath as, once again, the girl slams her full body weight into her and she goes flying and lands hard on the hood of the truck. Stars dance before her eyes when she hits her head, then then the girl is grinning down at her, pinning her down, and she can feel broken glass cutting into her back.

Nepeta rolls to one side, just in time, as a clawed hand comes down and skewers the truck, and then rolls to the other as the girl tries again with the other hand. Nepeta cranes her neck to lock eyes with Kanaya, who seems to be struggling with something.

“Kanaya! Get out! Run!”

“I can’t, I’m stuck!”

Nepeta smells something sharp and acrid but pays no mind. She just yells and thrusts her fists up into the wild girl’s stomach, who screams and tries to pull away. There’s blood pouring from the wounds and coating Nepeta’s hands,  and then she’s gone. Standing in her place is Equius, and Nepeta can see the shining, metallic exoskin as it finishes rippling across his face. The wild girl flies through the air from where Equius threw her.

“Thanks,” she breathes as he pulls her from the hood. “You handle the crazy hitchhiker, I’ll get Kanaya-- look out!”

The girl leaps onto Equius’s back and claws at his now metallic head, sparks flying as metal meets metal, and he lurches forward at the impact. Nepeta jumps out of the way and runs around, keeping an eye on the situation, then darts into the cab of the truck.

Kanaya is struggling and pulling at the seat belt; it won’t click, it won’t come undone, and, when Nepeta looks at the dash, she can see small flames beginning to flicker out of the air vents.

She turns back to her new friend and raises her claws.

“Watch your eyes,” she warns, then brings her claws down, shredding metal and polyester alike. She grabs Equius’s bag, then pulls Kanaya out of the cab after her. “Come on, c’mon,  _ c’mon!” _

She sees Equius reach behind him to grab onto the girl clinging to his back, and he throws her down onto the ground in front of him. She bares her teeth, then kicks and sweeps his legs out from under him, and he hits the ground with a loud thud.

The girl gets up and her sharp gaze finds Nepeta and Kanaya, but neither of them can do anything.

There’s an explosion and a scream, and Nepeta goes flying across the road. 

Heat. 

Pain. 

Equius is lying face down away from her, but the ground is dancing and there’s so many of him. Her ears are ringing loudly. The wild girl has already picked herself up, and there’s a long shard of metal protruding from her shoulder that she pulls out.

Kanaya is several feet away from where they were standing before. They need to get out of here.

“Kan… ay… a….”

“Going somewhere, kitty?”

Nepeta screams as a sharp pain encompasses her leg. She dares a glance back only to see the girl stooped over her, claws skewering her calf; blood pours from the wound, staining the snow red around them.

“Who... are you?” she whispers hoarsely. “What… what do you… want?”

“It doesn’t matter,” the girl purrs, “it’s not going to help you where you’re going.”

“What…?”

It’s so hard to breathe, harder to talk. The smoke, the pain, fading though it is, it’s awful, and Kanaya is still hurt. Equius… Where’s Equius? They have to stay together, they can’t get separated.

There’s a loud roaring sound, and Nepeta turns to see Equius barreling toward the girl, who turns her claws on him. There’s blood smeared across his face, though she isn’t sure whose it is, all she knows is that his exoskin is down.

He lowers his shoulder and slams into her, but she braces her hands against him and digs her feet into the ground. He pushes her for several feet, and Nepeta can see her weakening, and she thinks Equius has her--

And then he stops.

“No,” she croaks, then struggles to lift herself up onto her elbows. “ _ No!” _

Equius stops suddenly and the dark sunglasses fall from his face. He’s shaking and clutching at the girl’s shoulders, but she just pushes him off with her free hand, her other one curled into  a clawed, bloody fist.

He just coughs and clutches his middle.

Then crumples to the ground.

Nepeta screams and claws her way to her feet and hurls herself at the girl, who turns with an awful, bloody grin. Nepeta jumps, throws all her weight at the girl and ignores the pain she feels in her stomach, and sinks her own claws into the girl’s shoulders.

She’s lifted and tossed away and lands hard in the snow.

The girl walks towards her, slowly, methodically. She crouches next to her and grins. And then….

Darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are going to officially switch to tUesday, as weekends are _really_ bUsy for me ^U^    
>  Unless the writer completely forgets to update, in which case you have every right to lynch them   
> 


	5. Aftershock

It’s quiet.

The air is still and crisp.

That’s the first thing she notices. And, really, she should amend that. There’s a consistent, steady beeping sound that’s beginning to irritate her.

The next thing she takes note of is the smell.

It’s awful.

It’s all sterile and metallic and just devoid of any natural, comforting, human scents. It’s jarring. Uncomfortable.

The beeping speeds up a bit.

She screws her eyes shut tighter as a soft light glares down on her. Okay. She’s lying down. Okay. On what?

It’s hard. Cold. She rubs her hands against the flat, smooth surface. Metal. Where the fuck is she?

She can almost hear Equius scold her at--

Equius.

Oh, god, Equius.

Her breath catches in her chest as her last few memories come crashing down around her. The tree, the girl, the explosion. Kanaya.

_Equius._

The beeping goes faster, and she opens her eyes, already tearing up.

A white ceiling. Soft lights.

She looks off to the side.

There’s several monitors, each displaying something different, numbers, graphs, lines, nothing she can understand. It looks like medical equipment, at least. _That_ she knows.

Movement.

Her eyes dart to the foot of the bed, and, beyond that, to a door that slides open. She keeps her eyes hooded and watches the figure carefully. It’s a young woman, short, a bit heavy set, more curvy than overweight, with short, dark hair and oval glasses. She’s wearing a denim skirt and a white shirt under a lab coat and is carrying a clipboard.

She walks over to Nepeta’s side and lifts the itchy, oddly woven hospital blanket and checks some wires attached to her chest and arms.

“Patient’s vitals are looking more stable,” she says. Nepeta forces herself not to react; there’s no one else in the room, is there? No, it’s just the two of them. “It shouldn’t be long until she regains consciousness, and we can integrate her into the rest of the manor.” She stops, then pulls the blanket lower down and lightly brushes her fingers over Nepeta’s stomach. “She seems to be healing at a remarkable rate, physically, without aid. Regenerative abilities, not uncommon, though I’ve never really seen anything quite this… advanced, I would say.” She gently takes Nepeta by the wrist and turns her hand this way and that, possibly examining her. “She displays retractable appendages akin to Mimala’s claws, though the patient seems to have a metallic coating that Mimala lacks. The dissimilarities do not end there. Whereas Mimala displays three claws, the patient appears to have only two, though her regenerative properties seem to be a bit more rapid, and the claws are much slimmer in design, though this could be due to her adolescence.”

The young woman stops talking and turns to look at something on a monitor, and Nepeta catches the name on the lanyard around her neck: Jane E.

“Alright, hon,” she says. “You should be waking up any minute now. Your vitals are becoming more alert, so let’s just go ahead and adjust your drip--”

No.

No, these people killed Equius, but they are _not_ going to put her under to run whatever freak tests they want. She’s going to get out, find that girl, and kill her.

She grabs Jane by the wrist when she reaches over for the IV and unsheathes her claws on the other hand, holding them just under Jane’s chin, now wide eyed and frozen.

“Where am I?” she demands quietly.

Jane visibly swallows as sweat starts beading on her brow.

“The Sarvin Estate,” she whispers. “In Manchester, New York.”

“Manchester,” Nepeta breathes. “A little farther off than we’d planned, but it’ll work. How do I get out of here?”

Jane reaches up a trembling hand slowly and removes the lanyard from around her neck.

“H-here,” she says. “It’s my key card. You- you just swipe it at the door. Straight down the hall, take a left at the end.” Nepeta narrows her eyes, then swipes it from her hand. “Please. Please, don’t hurt anyone.”

“There’s only one person on my shit list,” Nepeta says. “If it ends at her, fine. If I find out otherwise… I’ll be back.”

She swipes her claws at the wires and cords attached to her and the machines go crazy, beeping hysterically, and she leaps off the cold examination table and runs toward the door. She swipes the card and grabs a lab coat off the hook.

She follows the directions Jane gave her, not because she _trusts_ her, but because her scent is fresher this way, and there’s not as bad a sterile scent this direction.

She comes to another access panel, but there’s only a faint outline in the wall where a door should be. Jane’s scent is all over it, but… it’s just a wall? There’s no other exit.

She shakes her head once, then slides the key card across the panel.

Nothing.

And then a hissing, decompressing sound, and the outline of the door presses inward about a foot, then slides off to the side.

Nepeta frowns, then sticks her head through. There is a stark contrast in the little alcove that she’s in and the new room. There’s books, shelves, a large open space that smells of dust and paper.

Is she in a goddamned library?

No, she’s in some kind of foyer. She steps out slowly, taking in her surroundings. This place is huge and nearly perfectly symmetrical. Two large windows on either side of the door, a winding staircase on each side of the room, two long hallways.

This place is a lot classier than any other place she’s been in a long, long, _long_ time, but there’s something off about it that she can’t quite place.

And then she’s not alone anymore.

There’s a loud, ringing sound and she jumps back and presses herself to the wall, eyes darting around wildly.

People are pouring out of doors, stepping down the stairs, coming in through the front door, chatting and laughing and it’s all just so _loud._

She grits her teeth and presses herself even further against the wall, hands over her ears.

She has to get out of here.

A moment later, she sees her opening and darts forward, ignoring the stares as she pushes through people, all varying ages, all young, bumping into people and she’s almost there, almost at the door--

And then she runs into a solid wall of a person hard enough to knock the wind from her.

“Nepeta?”

She freezes and looks beside the person she just ran into.

“Kanaya,” she breathes. “Kanaya, you’re okay?”

“You’re awake, oh, thank heavens, Nepeta--”

“Nepeta, are you alright? You had me so worried--” She looks up into the worried eyes of her best friend and she can feel her own eyes start welling up with tears.

“Equius? It can’t-- you--”

“Are you alright? How are you feeling--”

“I saw her stab you--”

“You hit your head so hard--”

“I watched you _die--_ ”

They’re holding each other as tight as they can and Nepeta lets herself cry into his shirt and breathes in his scent. Is this real? It can’t be real, that girl killed him.

“You had us so worried, Nepeta,” Kanaya says, and Nepeta feels a hand making small circles in her back.

“What happened?” she asks, breathless, grasping at the other girl’s gloved hand. “You were hurt, Equius-- he was--”

“I think,” she says, brushing the hair away from Nepeta’s eyes, “that we should take you to the professor. He can explain everything.”

“The professor?”

“The man who owns this facility,” Equius explains. He takes her by the shoulders and smiles. “He sent his people to help us and to bring us here.”

“But… I don’t understand.”

“I know, Nepeta, but he will explain it all. Come,” he says and wraps an arm around her and Kanaya starts to button up the lab coat she stole. Oh, which reminds her.

“Oh… so… I may have left somebody stranded in this weird room I woke up in?”

“You-- what?”

“Yeah, this short, chubby girl with dark hair and glasses? This is hers.” She shows him the key card that Jane gave her and he sighs before taking it. He looks around, then stops a tall girl with wild black hair with multicolored beads braided into it and hot pink glasses.

“Would you mind taking this to Dr. Dolorosa, Miss Feferi? It would seem Miss Jane has found herself in a bit of a predicament.”

“Oh! Sure, no problem, Equius,” she replies with a bright smile that flips Nepeta’s stomach upside down. “Where _is_ Jane, though?”

“She’s down in the med bay, I believe,” he says.

“Alright, yeah, I can take care of this, no problem. See you guys later!”

“Well, she’s… bubbly,” Nepeta says as the girl jogs off, and Kanaya laughs.

“And she is the tamest of them all, believe me,” she laughs. “This place is just _full_ of interesting people.”

“Who we can meet and introduce you to later,” Equius states. “For now, we should go see the professor.”

“Yeah,” Nepeta murmurs. “Yeah, let’s do… that.”

 

xXx

 

“... it is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, and normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward, which brings us… here.”

There is a soft, warm voice droning on about something or other, and there’s a room full of kids around Nepeta’s age. It almost seems like a classroom.

Is… is this a school?

“Can anyone here tell me what is responsible for our gifts and abilities?” the man asks from behind his desk. He’s older, crow’s feet at the corners of his warm brown eyes, his dark hair peppered with gray. He smiles and points to a kid in a dark gray sweater with his hand in the air. “Yes, Karkat.”

“That’d be the X gene, or the X-Factor chromosome.”

“Yes, now, what is it about this gene that causes mutations in people?”

“It leads to the production of an exotic protein,” one girl says, “which produces chemical signals that then induce various mutations on other genes.”

“Exactly, thank you, Rose.” He looks up, then, and sees the three of them standing at the back of the room. “And that, I believe, is where we will leave off for the day. Please, do continue the reading on genetic mutations, and remember, I will know if you don’t.” He winks and taps his temple, eliciting a few laughs from students as they gather up their belongings. “Oh, Rose, dear, would you mind sending in your brothers and cousin?”

“Of course, Professor Xeodan,” the girl in question says. “Would you also like me to send in Jane?”

“I have a feeling she’s going to be a moment.”

“Of course,” she says, then turns and sees the three of them. The Rose girl looks at her and Equius, then at Kanaya, who just waves shyly. Rose smiles and ducks past them.

“Miss Nepeta, it’s wonderful to see you up and around,” the man behind the desk says warmly. “I have to admit, you gave your friends and I quite a scare.”

“Not really my intention,” she says as Equius urges her forward.

“Oh, I imagine it wasn’t,” the professor assures her, and he moves out from behind the desk to approach her. She starts as she realizes he’s using a motorized wheelchair. Looks pretty fancy. He reaches out a hand. “Sarvin Xeodan, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Leijon.”

“Yeah,” she replies hesitantly as she shakes his hand. “Yeah, likewise. Look, what’s going on here?”

“Well, my dear, what’s going on is that you and your companions were grievously attacked and nearly killed. My people were sent out and brought you here for medical attention.”

“Yeah, I don’t really _need_ medical attention?”

“Well, be that as it may, you were unconscious for quite a while, and your friends hee were injured fairly badly.” He gestures to Equius. “Mr. Zahhak here suffered from multiple injuries, including a punctured liver, and Miss Maryam had acquired a concussion and was suffering from internal bleeding and smoke inhalation due to the explosion.”

“They-- how are they--”

“Alive? I believe you already met, but Miss Jane Crocker-Egbert has certain… abilities that allow her to stabilize those who are injured and enhance their own natural healing abilities on a genetic level, temporarily. She, along with three others, retrieved you-- Ah, Roxy, boys, come in, please.” He gestures behind them and she looks. There’s a young woman who looks to be around Equius’ age, with dark skin and curly, nearly platinum blonde hair with a bright pink streak running through it.

The boys next to her aren’t nearly as dark, and Nepeta can actually see freckles on the shorter boy’s face beneath the aviator shades. The taller boy has overly large, triangular shades and snakebite piercings, and both have the same platinum blonde hair as the girl.

“Heya, Professor, you wanted to see us?” the girl asks as she practically bounces in.

“Yes, it seems as our final guest has awakened,” he says, and the girl waves at them with a bright, bubbly smile. “Nepeta, I'd like you to meet Roxy Lalonde, also called Shadowcat. This is Dirk and Dave Strider, also called SquareWave and Flash Step respectively. They are the ones who saved your life. I believe you already know Miss Jane, who should be joining us an minute now.”

“Yeah… sorry about that, by the way,” she says sheepishly.

“It’s quite alright, Jane is only worried for your health and safety. No one is going to be angry with you for trying to defend yourself, Nepeta.”

“How do you--”

“Know what happened?” He chuckles, and then she hears a voice whisper into her mind, _You aren’t the only one with abilities here, Miss Leijon._

She jumps back and looks around, then looks back at the professor, who is watching her curiously.

“Was-- did you say that? Was that you just now?”

“Yes, and I do apologize for startling you, though, as I was saying, you are safe here.”

“Where are we? What is this place?”

Xeodan smiles warmly and leans forward.

“You are in my School for Gifted Youngsters.”

The shorter boy gives them a little half-smile and shoots them a set of finger guns.

“Welcome to Mutant High.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates on tUesdays ^U^    
>  Unless the writer completely forgets to update, in which case you have every right to lynch them   
> 


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